Transfiguration

Today is the patronal feast of the Cathedral of Rome - the Patriarchal Archbasilica of S. Giovanni in Laterano, "Mother and Mistress of all of the Churches of the City and of the World".

Buona festa!

Requiescat in pace.

Today is the 30th anniversary of the death of Pope Paul VI.

Requiem aeternam dona eis Domine.
Et lux perpetua luceat eis.
Requiescat in pace. Amen.

Our Lady of the Snows

5 August 2008

Today is the anniversary of the dedication of the patriarchal Basilica of Saint Mary Major (Santa Maria Maggiore). The legend of its origins is found in the old breviary:

• Under the pontificate of Liberius, John, a Roman patrician, and his wife, who was of an equally noble race, having no children to whom they might leave their estates, vowed their whole fortune to the Blessed Virgin Mother of God, begging her most earnestly and continually to make known to them by some means in what pious work she wished them to employ the money. The Blessed Virgin Mary graciously heard their heartfelt prayers and vows, and answered them by a miracle.
• On the Nones of August, usually the hottest time of the year in Rome, a part of the Esquiline Hill was covered with snow during the night. that same night the Mother of God appeared in a dream to John and his wife separately, and told them to build a church on the spot they should find covered with snow, and to dedicate it to the Virgin Mary; for it was in this manner that she wished to become their heiress. John related this to Pope Liberius, who said he had dreamt the same thing.
  
• He went, therefore, with a solemn procession of priests and people to the snow-clad hill, and chose the site of a church, which was built with the money of John and his wife. It was afterwards rebuilt by Sixtus III. At first it was called by different names, the Liberian basilica, St. Mary at the Crib. But, since there are many churches in Rome dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, and as this one suprasses all other basilicas in dignity and by its miraculous beginning, it is distinguished from them by its title of St. Mary Major. On account of the miraculous fall of snow, the anniversary of the dedication is celbrated by a yearly solemnity.

In commemoration of the miraclulous snowfall, during the pontifical Mass of the Dedication, at the Gloria, an opening is made in the ceiling, and white flower petals are released into the nave of the Church....

February 7

Today is the Feast of Bd. Pius IX.

Prayers to Saint Peter and Paul

Prayers to Saints Peter and Paul

Saint Peter the Apostle

Thou art the Shepherd of the sheep, the Prince of the Apostles, unto thee were given the keys of the kingdom of heaven.

℣. Thou art Peter;

℟. And upon this rock I will build my Church.

Let us pray.

Raise us up, we beseech thee, O Lord, by the apostolic assistance of blessed Peter, thine Apostle: so that the weaker we are, the more mightily we may be helped by the power of his intercession: and that being perpetually defended by the same holy Apostle, we may neither yield to any iniquity, nor be overcome by any adversity. Through Christ our Lord.

O glorious Saint Peter, who, in return for thy lively and generous faith, thy profound and sincere humility, and thy burning love, wast honoured by Jesus Christ with singular privileges, and, in particular, with the leadership of the other Apostles and the primacy of the whole Church, of which thou wast made the foundation stone, do thou obtain for us the grace of a lively faith, that shall not fear to profess itself openly, in its entirety and in all of its manifestations, even to the shedding of blood, if occasion should demand it, and to the sacrifice of life itself in preference to surrender. Obtain for us likewise, a sincere loyalty to our holy mother, the Church; grant that we may ever remain most closely and sincerely united to the Roman Pontiff, who is the heir of thy faith and of thy authority, the one, true, visible Head of the Catholic Church, that mystic ark outside which there is no salvation. Grant, moreover, that we may follow, in all humility and meekness, her teaching and her counsels, and may be obedient to all her precepts, in order to be able here on earth to enjoy a peace that is sure and undisturbed, and to attain one day in heaven to everlasting happiness. Amen.

℣. Pray for us, Saint Peter the Apostle,

℟. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray.

O God, who hast given unto thy blessed Apostle Peter the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and the power to bind and loose: grant that we may be delivered, through the help of his intercession, from the bonds of all our sins: Who livest and reignest world without end. Amen.

Saint Paul the Apostle

Thou art the Vessel of election, Saint Paul the Apostle, the Preacher of truth in the whole world.

℣. Pray for us, Saint Paul the Apostle,

℟. That we may be worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray.

Almighty and everlasting God, who, of thy divine mercy, didst instruct thy blessed Apostle Paul what he should to that he might be filled with the Holy Ghost; by his admonitions directing us and his merits interceding for us, grant that we may serve thee in fear and trembling, and so be filled with the comfort of thy heavenly gifts. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

O glorious Saint Paul, who, from being a persecutor of the Christian name, didst become its most zealous Apostle, and who, to carry the knowledge of our Jesus, our divine Saviour, to the uttermost parts of the earth, didst joyfully suffer prison, scourgings, stonings, shipwreck and all manner of persecutions, and who didst finish thy course by shedding the last drop of thy blood: obtain for us the grace to accept, as favours bestowed by the mercy of God, the infirmities, sufferings and misfortunes of this life, that we may not grow slack in our service of God by reason of these vicissitudes of our exile, but that we may the rather show ourselves ever more devoted. Amen.

℣. Pray for us, Saint Paul the Apostle,

℟. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray.

O God, who hast taught the multitude of the Gentiles by the preaching of blessed Paul the Apostle: grant unto us, we beseech thee, that we who keep his memory sacred, may feel the might of his intercession before thee. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Prayer to St. Therese of the Child Jesus

For the Conversion of Russia

O loving and compassionate Saint, deign to comfort our Russian brethren, the victims of a long and cruel persecution of the Christian name; obtain for them perseverance in the faith, progress in the love of God and of their neighbor, and in confidence toward the most holy Mother of God; prepare for them holy priests who shall make reparation for the blasphemies and sacrileges committed against the holy Eucharist; grant that angelic purity, especially in the young, and every Christian virtue may once more flourish among them, to the end that this noble people, being delivered from all slavery and returning freely to the one fold entrusted by the loving Heart of the Risen Christ to Saint Peter and his successors, may at length taste the joy of glorifying the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit in the fellowship of the holy Catholic Church.

Prayer to Obtain the Reunion of the Christians of the East

O Lord, who hast united the various nations in the confession of thy name, we pray thee for the Christian peoples of the East. Mindful of the high place they held of old in thy Church, we beg of thee to inspire them with an ardent desire to regain that place, in order to form, with us, one only fold under the guidance of one and the same Shepherd. Grant that their hearts may be docile to hear the voice of their holy Doctors, who are likewise our Fathers in the faith. Let a spirit of concord and charity, which is a sign of thy presence among the faithful, hasten the day when our prayers shall be united to theirs, so that every nation and every tongue may acknowledge and glorify our Lord Jesus Christ.

To St. Bridget, Queen of Sweden, Widow

With trusting hearts we turn to thee, blessed Bridget, in these hostile and unbelieving days, to implore thine intercession in behalf of those who are separated from the Church of Jesus Christ. By that clear knowledge thou didst have of the bitter sufferings of our crucified Redeemer, the price of our salvation, we offer thee our supplications to obtain the grace of faith for those who are outside the one true fold, that so the sheep who are scattered may return to the one true shepherd, our Lord Jesus Christ.

Saint Bridget, fearless in thy service of God, pray for us. Saint Bridget, fearless in thy service of God, pray for us. Saint Bridget, patient in the midst of suffering and humiliation, pray for us. Saint Bridget, wonderful in thy love for Jesus and Mary, pray for us.

Pater, Ave, Gloria.

Prayer to Our Lady, Queen of the Most Holy Rosary of Pompeii

O merciful Queen of the Rosary of Pompeii, thou, the Seat of Wisdom, hast established a throne of fresh mercy in the land that once was pagan, in order to draw all nations to salvation by means of the chaplet of thy mystic roses: remember that thy divine Son hath left us this saying: “Other sheep I have that are not of this fold; them also must I bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one Shepherd.” Remember likewise that on Calvary thou didst become our co-Redemptrix, by virtue of the crucifixion of thy heart cooperating with thy Crucified Son in the salvation of the world; and from that day thou didst become the Restorer of the human race, the Refuge of sinners and the Mother of all mankind. Behold, dear Mother, how many souls are lost every hour! Behold, how countless millions of those who dwell in India, in China, and in barbarous regions do not yet know our Lord Jesus Christ! See, too, how many others are indeed Christians and are nevertheless far from the bosom of Mother Church which is Catholic, Apostolic and Roman!
O Mary, powerful mediator, advocate of the human race, full of love for us who are mortal, the life of our hearts, blessed Virgin of the Rosary of Pompeii, graciously hear our prayers; let not the Precious Blood and the fruits of Redemption be lost for so many souls. From thy chosen shrine in Pompeii where thou dost nothing else save dispense heaven’s favours upon the afflicted, grant that a ray of thy heavenly light may shine forth to enlighten those many blinded understandings and to enkindle so many cold hearts. Intercede with thy divine Son and obtain grace for all the pagans, Jews, heretics and schismatics in the whole world to receive supernatural light and to enter with joy into the bosom of the true Church. Hear the confident prayer of the Supreme Pontiff, that all nations may be joined in the one faith, may know and love Jesus Christ, the blessed fruit of thy womb, who liveth and reigneth with the Father and the Holy Spirit world without end. And then all men shall love thee also, thou who art the salvation of the world, arbiter and dispenser of the treasures of God, and Queen of mercy in the valley of Pompeii. And, glorifying thee, the Queen of Victories, who by means of the Rosary, dost trample upon all heresies, they shall acknowledge that thou givest life to all the nations, since there must be a fulfilment of the prophecy in the Gospel: “All generations shall call me blessed”.

Prayers for Christian Unity

From the Raccolta.

O God, who guidest that which is gone astray, and gatherest that which is scattered, and keepest that which is gathered together; we beseech thee, mercifully pour forth upon the Christian people the grace of thy unity; that they may reject the spirit of dissension and unite themselves to the true Shepherd of thy Church, and may thus be enabled to serve thee worthily. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Almighty and everlasting God, whose will it is that all men should be saved and that none should perish, look upon the souls that are deceived by the guile of Satan, in order that the hearts of them that have gone astray may put aside all the perverseness of heresy, and, being truly repentant, may return to the unity of thy truth. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Lord Jesus, merciful Saviour of the world, we humbly beseech thee by they most Sacred Heart, that all the straying sheep may turn unto thee, the Shepherd and Bishop of their souls: Who livest and reignest, world without end. Amen.

O Mary, Mother of mercy and Refuge of sinners, we beseech thee, be pleased to look with pitiful eyes upon poor heretics and schismatics. Thou who art the Seat of Wisdom, enlighten the minds that are miserably enfolded in the darkness of ignorance and sin, that they may clearly know that the Holy Catholic Church is the one true Church of Jesus Christ, outside of which neither holiness nor salvation can be found. Call them to the unity of the one fold, granting them the grace to accept all the truths of our holy Faith, and to submit themselves to the Supreme Roman Pontiff, the Vicar of Jesus Christ on earth; that so, being united with us in the sweet chains of divine charity, there may soon be one only fold under the same one Shepherd; and may we all, O glorious Virgin, sing forever with exultation: Rejoice, O Virgin Mary, thou only hast destroyed all heresies in the whole world.

O Virgin immaculate, thou who by a singular privilege of grace wast preserved from original sin, look in pity upon our separated brethren, who are nevertheless thy children, and call them back to the center of unity. Not a few of them, although separated from the Church, have kept a certain veneration for thee; and do thou, generous as thou art, reward them for it, by obtaining for them the grace of conversion.

Thou was conqueror of the infernal serpent from the first instant of thy existence; renew even now, for it is now more necessary than ever before, thine ancient triumphs; glorify thy divine Son, bring back to him the sheep that have strayed from the one fold and place them once more under the guidance of the universal Shepherd who holds the place of thy Son on earth; let it be thy glory, O Virgin who destroyest all heresies, to restore unity and peace once more to all the Christian people.

A Devout Exercise for the Unity of the Church

From the Raccolta

Ant. That they all may be one, as thou, Father, in me and I in thee, that thy also may be one in us; that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.

℣. I say to thee, that thou art Peter,

℟. And upon this rock I will build my Church.

Let us pray.

Lord Jesus Christ, who didst say to thine Apostles: Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you, look not upon my sins, but upon the faith of Thy Church; and vouchsafe unto her that peace and unity which is agreeable to thy will: Who livest and reignest, God, forever and ever. Amen.

Prayer Intentions for Each Day of the Octave

First Day: For the return of the ‘other sheep’ to the One Fold of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Second Day: For the return of the Eastern Orthodox Christians to communion with the Apostolic See.

Third Day: For the return of the Anglicans to the authority of the Vicar of Christ.

Fourth Day: For the return of all Protestants throughout the world to the unity of the Catholic Church.

Fifth Day: That Christians in America [or: throughout the world] may be one, in union with the Chair of Saint Peter.

Sixth Day: That lapsed Catholics will return to the Sacraments of the Church.

Seventh Day: That the Jewish people will be converted to the Catholic Faith.

Eighth Day: That missionary zeal will conquer the world for Christ.

Octave of Prayer for Christian Unity

Today marks the beginning of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. Although taken over by Ecumenists, the Octave is actually very Catholic in its origins - seeking the unity of all men in the one true Church of Jesus Christ.

In fact, even the timing of this event is steeped in Catholic Culture. The Octave begins on the feast of the Chair of St. Peter at Rome - the divinely appointed foundation of Christian Unity - and concludes on the feast of the Conversion of St. Paul - the conversion of a fanatical enemy of Christ and His holy Church to the greatest Evangelist the world has ever known.

Saint Peter and Saint Paul, pray for us!